July 1, 2014

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the Adventure Knit-a-long is something I did last summer for the first time, and it was very much fun (it’s now on my site and on ravelry asAdventure Knitting: A Day in the Woods), so it’s back for another go! It’s a mystery knit-a-long inspired by Choose Your Own Adventure books – tons of options, choices to make in every section, countless possibilities for your one-of-a-kind finished item(s)!

Here are some photos of items knit with last year’s pattern collection, to give you an idea of how different your adventure knits can be from each other:

This year’s will be very different from the first one, totally different items, constructions, stitch patterns, story… the choose-your-own-adventure aspect will be a bit different too (not so much mimicking the format, but more of its own thing this time), so be prepared for possibly unexpected elements!

There will be a total of 24 different stitch patterns (all both written and charted). You can make your entire piece one solid color, or add optional contrasting color designs or color changes. All items are knit flat, using increases and decreases for shaping; some items/shapes are more complex than others, and same with the stitch patterns, so pattern difficulty ranges around adventurous beginner to experienced intermediate.

It will be given in foldable book format just like last year’s (see the video on this page to learn more about the DIY book format), in addition to the normal pdf format, plus some extra printable things.

Here are some notes which are also in the pre-order pdf…

There will be six different shapes to choose from, and some shapes can be made as different items (there will be 10+ items total); they can all be made in any weight yarn, and any size, although some item types will be better suited for lighter weights or heavier weights.

I’ll give away a bit about the items, to help you brainstorm about what you might want to make before the KAL begins. There will be many different types of neck accessories. Pretty much any kind of neck accessory you like, you’ll be able to make it (some form of it). There will also be some small items, simple things if you don’t want to commit to much before knowing what it’ll look like, and some simple but large items.

You can basically use any yarn you want for the KAL. If you pick a yarn from your stash that you’d like to use, there will likely be an item that will work well with it. Most items will need 2-3 skeins of yarn, but there are those smaller items that take less than 1 skein.

All items can be made in one solid color only, or can use optional contrasting color(s) for simple optional color patterns; or you can use multiple solid colors in wide stripes or blocks. All yarns should be solids or semi-solids, or self-striping with really long color sections should work – not busy variegated colorways.

Try to use yarn that will block well (like wool; though there is one item that’s meant for cotton) – blocking will be somewhat important to smooth everything out. Also, yarn with good stitch definition is recommended.

As for yardage, because your yardage needed will depend on your yarn weight, item choice, and desired size, there won’t be really precise yardage estimates given, but the patterns will be written in a way to help you use up all your yardage and not run out.

The KAL schedule is:

Thursday, August 14th: Setup section released

Thursday, August 21st: Section 1 released

Thursday, August 28th: Section 2 released

Thursday, September 4th: Section 3 released

In addition to those pattern section releases, you will get some other stuff throughout the KAL as extra pdfs. That’s still a bit of a mystery for now, but if you read the pre-order pdf text you might get a hint!

The setup section on August 14th will involve very little knitting. That week is when you’ll make your shape/item choice(s), pick your yarn, cast on, and knit a few setup rows to get ready for the first section. So the real knitting begins when section 1 is released on August 21st.

But, the sooner you sign up the better, because the KAL price will go up as the adventure goes on. Right now it’s $8 for the pre-order; once the setup section is released, it’ll jump to $10, then 11 then 12 for sections 1 and 2, and with the final section the price will raise to the final $14.

So if you want in on the adventure, pre-order on leethalknits or on ravelry, download the pre-order pdf to read a bit of the story, start thinking about your yarns, and chat about our upcoming adventures in the leethal ravelry group! I will be there to answer your questions, and I may post new pictures or other kinds of mystery hints in there as the month goes on.

Want to learn a bit about the story? Okay, here’s the first page:

You arrive at your aunt’s house on a pleasant, breezy day in August, bags packed with a couple weeks’ worth of clothes and books. She has invited you to housesit while she’s on vacation, since she knows you’ve always loved her cats. As you walk up to the front door, you realize what that nagging has been in the back of your head throughout the five hour journey – you forgot your knitting! And you’d been so looking forward to spending these weeks in a cooler region, so much nicer knitting here than where you’ve been for the first month of summer! You curse your forgetfulness and cross your fingers, hoping there’s a good local yarn shop nearby, as you knock on the door.

After saying hello and going through the housesitting checklist, you casually ask about the LYS situation. She says she thinks there is a small shop downtown, not far from here (huge sigh of relief!), but you’ve reminded her of something. When she was tidying up the attic a few weeks ago, she came across a trunk that had belonged to her aunt, your great aunt, and had ended up with her several years back – she’d always meant to sort through it but it had gotten hidden behind some boxes and forgotten over the years. She’d popped it open, and seen a bunch of yarn and some hand-knit items. Since you’d be here housesitting in a couple weeks, she’d decided to leave it there for you to have first dibs on anything that interested you, since you’re the only big knitter in the family.

“So you might want to take a look at that trunk first, before hitting the yarn store, just in case there’s any useable yarn in there.”

You think, cool, I might save a few bucks. You never met that great aunt; you might remember her name coming up in some of your dad’s stories, but you’re not sure.

So once you’ve gotten settled in, played with the cats a bit, and your aunt has left on her trip, you pull down the attic ladder and head up. A big, old steamer trunk sits near the window, filled with wooly mystery. You hope for something awesome as you unfasten the metal clasp…

There is one more page of story text in the pdf, so I won’t spoil too much here. I’ll just say, there’s a bunch of exciting stuff in that trunk!! It’s full of knitting related things, and more, all of which will work together to make up your adventures! Throughout the knit-a-long, you’ll be given things that were found in the trunk, and you’ll use them to create your knits. You’ll see…

I’m so excited to finally be announcing this – it’s been in the works since last summer when the first one was a success, and I started really planning this year’s way back in November (this instagram caption is about the beginning planning of this KAL!). It has evolved a lot since then, and I’m really happy with how everything is turning out! I can’t wait to go on adventures with you!